The New York Post deemed him "The Jewish Chris Rock."
An English class in Austria was assigned his writing as a lesson in American college life.
And in between writing a book and hopping on a plane to Los Angeles for meetings with television executives, Penn alumnus Aaron Karo managed to stop into the Penn Bookstore on Saturday afternoon to perform 20 minutes of stand-up comedy and sign copies of his first book Ruminations on College Life.
Ruminations, which was first published in July and is already in its second printing, originated when Karo, as an insomnia-ridden freshman, started penning monthly e-mails on life at Penn and sending them out to 20 of his high school friends.
Four years later, the e-mails had gained a following of 11,000 subscribers worldwide and ultimately landed Karo a book deal with Simon & Schuster.
After graduating from Wharton in 2001, Karo briefly worked on Wall Street before quitting his job to pursue a career in entertainment. He's currently developing a screenplay based on his successful debut work.
"My number one goal is to make Ruminations into a film or a sitcom," Karo told a group of 60 huddled in a corner of the bookstore. "A lot needs to happen between now and me getting an Emmy, but hey, it could happen."
Karo's stand-up routine covered people who have never heard of Penn ("We're in the Ivy League! Why don't you know me?") and the sweatshop labor debate that occurred on campus two years ago ("Ten hippies cared and the rest of us were like, 'Does this affect our drinking?'").
The audience was a mix of old and new faces.
"I'm just here because my sister's boyfriend went to high school with Karo, and I am getting him a copy of the book," College sophomore Stephanie Cohen said. "Everyone else seems to know him."
Karo's friends, many from the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, were well acquainted with his material.
"I had read most of the columns already," College senior Matt Seigel said. "But I think he put the book together really well."
Karo currently writes Ruminations on Regular Life, a new series of comedic musings which can be read at his Web site, www.AaronKaro.com.
